B/U/B/B – Hate Culture

Available for weddings and divorce parties. Here’s another two piece, but what makes them different? It’s a hard question to ask and similarly, a very hard time to be a two piece. After 2014 being the year of the two piece essentially, Drenge and Royal Blood being the two household names, then the shed load of manure dumped into the pile too (mentioning no names, but you can take guesses left, right and centre), to stake the claim as a two piece, you just gotta’ have something about you that makes you special. The thing about B/U/B/B (Beaten Up By Boys) is they don’t necessarily sound like a two piece, they don’t necessarily enjoy the fact they are a two piece as they seem to carry the sound of a four piece at least, this is no real exaggeration to be honest. Packing with them the fury and punk ethic similar to the likes of The Melvins, Buttohole Surfers and Single Mothers, you get the sense they are not necessarily in this to just jump on a bandwagon.

Gallery Circus, Drenge and Deap Valley – these are all examples of two piece bands, ain’t saying they are bad, but they all played on the whole twin, family, sisters image. Something that since the arrival and demise of The White Stripes has signified the whole us against the world idea, siege warfare. This whole thing became a bit cheap, a bit of con. I listen to Hate Culture by B/U/B/B, there’s nothing cheap about it, it’s angsty, guitars rasp and glimmer between belabouring drums, chasing after you like something from Swamp Man. It’s terrifying to listen to, it’s threatening, intimidating and cruel. But what did you want? It’s not calm, with these fellas, it almost feels like they are the anti-two piece despite falling within the bracket of being one. There’s a hell of a lot of credit to be given here. They keep the song interesting, the majority blisters past but there’s sparse breakdowns accompanied with hushed vocals, muttered through distortion. B/U/B/B rattle around in a frenzy within their cage, they spit their dummy out, pick it up and launch it at you. Keep your ear down to the ground for these cats, they have a long way to go and as long as they don’t succumb to what everyone expects of two piece bands in Brighton, they have a future.